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One of the classic combinations in certain regions of France is Picon Biere, that is a Pilsener or Wheat beer with a splash of Amer Picon poured in.

Unfortunately, we don’t get Amer Picon here in these United States.

However, even if Diageo refuses to send us Amer Picon, we do get a lot of other Amaros…

With this series of posts we shall explore the possibilities we do have available.

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Well, sometimes you do have Amer Picon available.

So let’s say you’re scanning the shelves behind the bar for interesting things, as I often do.

Perhaps you see a bottle that looks a little like this:

What do you do?

Trumer Pilsener & Amer Picon

METHOD: Pour beer into the mason jar or glass of your choosing. Pour in 3/4 ounce (or to taste) of Amer Picon.

Well, the polite thing is to observe the bottle with some degree of apparent awe. Someone probably had to carry the damn thing back in their suitcase from Europe, for gosh sakes. Ask your bartender politely, if that might be a bottle of Amer Picon. If he acknowledges your query positively, ask if he wouldn’t mind making you a Picon Biere.

Now it is possible that your bartender type will take some offense at this notion, that you might waste his precious Amer Picon in Beer. In which case, perhaps, if it seems the situation is salvageable, ask for a Brooklyn or Creole Cocktail. Whew.

However, if your bartender is as nice as Kevin Diedrich at Jasper’s Corner Tap, he might be impressed that you have ordered a Picon Biere and gladly make one for you. Though do note, the label says this is, “Kevin’s Bottle,” so don’t be offended if he doesn’t oblige.

One of the classic combinations in certain regions of France is Picon Biere, that is a Pilsener or Wheat beer with a splash of Amer Picon poured in.

Unfortunately, we don’t get Amer Picon here in these United States.

However, even if Diageo refuses to send us Amer Picon, we do get a lot of other Amaros…

With this series of posts we shall explore the possibilities we do have available.

—

Ommegang Witte & Torani Amer

If we don’t get Amer Picon in the US, what do we get? Well, a fine Bay Area Company took it upon themselves to create a replacement, so the Basque community in Northern California could have their Picon Punch.

Witte is our version of the classic Belgian wit or “white” ale. Witte, which is actually Flemish for white, is brewed with malted and unmalted wheat, orange peel, and coriander – offering a refreshing style that showcases the Belgian talent for brewing full-flavored ales that are also light and balanced. It is pale straw in color, slightly hazy from the yeast, and topped with a huge white, fluffy head.

Witte is pleasantly light on the tongue, balanced between malt and wheat sweetness. Hops and spice with a subtle clove note baked by flavors of lemon and sweet orange give way to a dry, crisp, refreshing finish.

I like most Ommegang beers. They were one of the first beer brewers in the US to embrace Belgian style beer. I always feel like their beers are not quite as nuanced as their Belgian inspirations, but they are always good. Interestingly, in 2003, the founders of Ommegang sold their shares of the brewery to the Belgian brewery Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat.

METHOD: Pour a beer into the mason jar or glass of your choosing. (Really, take my word for it, don’t do it, just don’t! Use Amaro Ciociaro, or some other Orange flavored Amaro instead!) Pour in a half shot (2cl) of Torani Amer.

Yeah, I did make this, and I did pour it down the sink. Waste of a perfectly good beer. I added Amaro Ciociaro to the next one and I felt a lot better.

It’s a bit odd that the only highball listed specifically is the Amer Picon Highball. Maybe because it includes Grenadine? In any case, this is pretty much exactly a Picon Punch.

What exactly is a Picon Punch? Well, to quote Chuck Taggart, “It’s the most popular cocktail in Bakersfield, California. Why, you may ask? I did, and looked it up — it ‘s the “national drink” of the Basque people, and there are lots of Euskadi folk and Basque restaurants in B’field (known otherwise only for Buck Owens’ place and for being the hometown of a lot of people I know who couldn’t wait to move to L.A.)”

So feel free to order one in Bakersfield, Reno, or even San Francisco. I have to admit I did not see anyone drinking them when we visited the Basque country in Spain, though.

Why am I using Amer CioCiaro instead of Amer Picon? The big reason is, I just don’t have any. I do have Torani Amer, but I have to admit that the rather rubbing alcohol-esque nose on Torani Amer always puts me off. But back to Amer Ciociaro, about a million years ago, Mr. David Wondrich, (aka Splificator) took it upon himself to taste through all the considerable Amari he had in his closet to find the one closest to vintage Amer Picon. He documented this on eGullet: A Bitter Truth

Not too long ago, our own Scratchline was generous enough to give me a half-bottle of the original, 78-proof Picon (thanks again!). The other day, I rummaged through the various hidey-holes where I keep my aperitifs and amari and rounded up enough to do a comparative tasting, Amer Picon against the world.
…
After much nosing and not a little tasting, the closest match in aroma and taste proved to be the 60-proof Amaro Ciociaro. Now, it’s not a perfect match (it’s a little more herbal), and admittedly 60 proof isn’t the same as 78 proof, but it does a great job of evoking the clean orange notes of the old Picon without being nearly as watery as the new Picon. Plus it avoids the vegetal notes of the Torani, which are entirely absent in the old Picon.

So when Mrs. Flannestad took a trip to NY, one of the things I tasked her with was finding a bottle of the stuff. Little did I know she would trek all the way to the now legendary LeNell’s in Brooklyn to find it. I knew there was a reason I married her!

In any case, such fortitude is no longer necessary in California, as Amaro CioCiaro is now distributed here and carried in San Francisco by Cask and K&L Wines. Cask, in particular, seems hell bent on resurrecting the amazing array of bitter substances previously seen only at the late lamented LeNell’s.

By the way, there’s no particular reason you couldn’t make a Highball with just about any Amer or Amaro, leaving out the sweetener if they are already particularly sweet. In fact, Amaro Montenegro is another one pretty close to Amer Picon. Though, now that I think about it, Fernet Branca Highball anyone? Rick? Angostura Highball? Dion? Jaegermeister Highball? Jeffrey?

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the drinks in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, the, uh, Sauterne Cup.

*So-called because the Savoy, together with The Clink, Deadman’s Place, Fulwood’s Rents, The Mint, Mitre Court, Baldwin’s Gardens and Stepney were the last places in London where the privilege of “Sanctuary ” existed. Unfortunately this privilege was abolished by in “The Escape from Prison Act” in 1697. But even to-day no Ladies are allowed in the Savoy’s inner American Cocktail Bar.

“The protection afforded by a sanctuary at common law a person accused of felony might fly for safeguard of to sanctuary and there within 40 days go clothed in sackcloth before the coroner confess the felony and take an oath of t lie realm whereby he undertook to quit the kingdom and not return without the king’s leave Upon was ipso facto convict of the felony suffered attainder and forfeited all his goods but had time allowed him his oath The abjurer started forth on his journey with a wooden cross bareheaded and clothed in a robe which made him conspicuous among medieval wayfarers He had to keep to the king’s highway was not remain more than two nights in any one place and his way to the coast quickly The time allowed for was not long In Edward III s reign only nine given an abjurer to travel on foot from Yorkshire to Dover.”

I believe this is a bit of a joke, conflating the legal right of “sanctuary” with the ability to go to a bar and avoid your wife.

The cocktail itself is better than I expected. The bitterness of the Amer Picon replica does a nice job in balancing out the sweetness of the Cointreau.

These sorts of drinks always seem very much like what would be drunk in a Cafe in France, as in the picon-citron-curacao from Marcel Pagnol’s movie “Marius”.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

A very good cocktail, that, like the Brooklyn, has a real problem in the lack of a key ingredient: Amer Picon.

Amer Picon is a french bitter orange aperitif brand that is owned by Diageo. For some inexplicable reason Diageo refuses to import it into the United States. I dunno why. We’re not worthy, they don’t think there’s enough of a market, they just don’t like America. Something like that.

So if you want to try a Creole, or a Brooklyn, you’ve got a couple choices.

You can travel to France and buy Amer Picon. Unfortunately, even this is fraught with danger, as a few years ago Diageo changed the recipe for the product, reducing its proof. Maybe they aren’t hating on America at all. Perhaps they are just sparing us from a mediocre modern version of the product!?

You can try to make it yourself using Jamie Boudreau’s recipe, Amer Picon.

Last, you can try for a replacement.

Your first choice for a replacement, as I did previously with the Brooklyn, is to use Torani Amer. Torani Amer is a nice product, but unfortunately, as far as I can tell, doesn’t taste all that much like Amer Picon. It’s a bit too vegetal and not orangey enough. It makes a good Brooklyn or Creole, but not a great one.

A second choice of replacement is an obscure Italian Amaro called CioCiaro. It is more common in some US markets than others. It’s good, but not quite as bitter or orangey as Amer Picon. If you can find it, add a dash of Regan’s or Angostura orange bitters to your cocktail and you should be in business.

Another option is to make Jamie Boudreau’s recipe. Jamie’s recipe isn’t too hard. He is, after all, very lazy. Basically you modify a less obscure Italian Amaro called Ramzotti by pumping up the oranginess. The only annoying part is that it takes two months to make the orange tincture. Oh, and you have to find a source for bitter orange peels.

Being nearly as lazy as Jamie, but slightly less patient, I worked out this adaption of his recipe:

Microplane the zest of 1 orange into the vodka. Let stand a few minutes. Filter through 4 layers of cheese cloth into a clean bottle, squeezing out as much liquid as possible.

Pour Ramzotti Amaro through cheese cloth and orange zest, again squeezing out as much liquid as possible.

Add Blood Orange bitters and orange oil.

Shake to mix. It’s probably best to let it sit for a day or so.

I’m not totally sold, I think it might slightly overdo the fresh orange flavor. But it isn’t bad and doesn’t take 2 months to make. Definitely prefer it to Torani Amer.

Anyway, so you’ve done all that, and you’ve got some form of Amer Picon replacement. What’s up with the cocktail? It’s kind of hilarious. To be honest, the Creole is one of the most inexplicably fruity and, dare I say it, silly whiskey cocktails going. The intersection between the orange of the Amer Picon, the vermouth (I think especially if you use Carpano Antico), the whiskey and the lemon peel is almost comical. Comical and delicious.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

This seemed a bit flat as written. I’ve read that Torani Amer is closer to Amer Picon with the addition of some Orange Bitters. A couple drops of Regan’s Orange Bitters did perk it up a bit. A squeeze of lemon peel and it really started to sing.

Ahem, of course it might be a bit tastier with, say, Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey or Rittenhouse 100. But, out of deference to the Savoy, I stuck with Canadian.

By the way, tonight’s the night for Alembic Bar‘s monthly Savoy Cocktail Book night. Tonight the bartenders will forgo their usual menu and instead do their best to make any cocktail you desire from the Savoy Cocktail Book. The Brooklyn is a certainly a fine cocktail to ask for!

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.